“At Christmas, God put on skin to obey the law He knew His people could not. And then, on Good Friday, He paid the price for sin He knew they could not pay.” Christmas is the time of year when we celebrate our Savior’s birth. But have you thought about how Jesus being born affects you being born again? When we look at the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, we should also see our Savior, who laid down His life to set us free. John Greco delivers a fresh look at the familiar story of Christmas and all the characters who play a part in this redemption drama. The manger scene sits in the shadow of the cross, pointing directly to God’s plan of salvation—a plan full Meditations of justice and grace that gently unfolds on every page of the Bible. on Christmas The twenty-five short readings in Manger King lead us from Bethlehem to John Greco and the Calvary because the Jesus of Christmas is the Christ of Easter. Gospel of Hope John Greco is a writer and editor for an international Christian ministry in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives with his wife and son. He earned his BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from Gordon College and his MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. John has served in a variety of local church positions and has been a staff writer for Crown Financial Ministries and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He is the author of Broken Vows: Divorce and the Goodness of God and blogs at BlogInMyOwnEye.com. ISBN 978-1-62707-355-4 Product code: VM489 RELIGION/Holidays/ Christmas & Advent Photography credit: Getty Images John Greco Cover design: Peterman Design 9 781627 073554 Meditations on Christmas and the Gospel of Hope John Greco Manger King © 2015 by John Greco All rights reserved. Discovery House is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Requests for permission to quote from this book should be directed to: Permissions Department, Discovery House, P.O. Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, or contact us by e-mail at [email protected]. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Interior design by Beth Shagene Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Greco, John. Manger King : meditations on Christmas and the gospel of hope / John Greco. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-62707-355-4 1. Jesus Christ —Nativity—Meditations. 2. Christmas—Meditations. I. Title. BT315.3.G73 2015 242’.335--dc23 2015023098 Printed in the United States of America First printing in 2015 For Jonah I began writing this book while you were growing in your mother’s womb. Now it’s hard to remember what the world was like before you arrived. I love you and pray your life will be full of God-with-us moments. Contents The Christmas Story . 9 Intr oducti on: Bits of Christmas Candy ..............21 1 More Than a Manger. .23 2 The Christmas Story You’ve Never Heard .............26 3 How Two Guys Name Joseph Rescued the World. .30 4 The Christmas Present Under Jesus’ Family Tree .......33 5 Shepherds Who Leave Their Flocks ..................37 6 The Only Guests Who Brought Christmas Gifts. 40 7 The Unexpected Good News at Christmas ............44 8 When Answers to Prayer Collide. .48 9 The Day John Met Jesus ............................52 10 The Christmas Story According to Mark ..............56 11 The First Christmas Carol ..........................60 12 The Familiar Voice in a Baby’s Cry ...................64 13 The New Creation and the Old, Old Story . .69 14 A Christmas Engagement Story. 74 15 The Nightmare After Christmas .....................77 16 Caesar, the Census, and the Coming of Christ . 81 17 The Gospel and the Other “Virgin” Birth . 85 18 A Son Is Given . 90 19 The Faith to Be a Pregnant Virgin . 95 20 The Long-Awaited Day . 100 21 A Christmas Message from Heaven . 105 22 Ghosts of Christmas Past . 109 23 Light from the Fire . 113 24 The Mom Who Saved Christmas . 117 25 Three Boxes for Christmas . 121 Append ix: A Search for Harmony . 127 Notes . 139 Acknowledgments . 141 The Christmas Story Luke 1:5–2:40 Birth of John the Baptist Foretold In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were pray- ing outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Eliza- beth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the 9 10 Manger K ing spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Birth of Jesus Foretold In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he The C hr ist mas St ory 11 will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Mary Visits Elizabeth In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill coun- try, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.